Everybody Loves Game 7; The Pro Bowl Is Doomed

Today in sports: We have seen the last of the Pro Bowl, NHL Game 7s are better than other Game 7s, and a handy guide to avoid watching the first 30 minutes of the NFL draft

There's growing talk that the NFL may finally -- finally! -- be getting rid of the Pro Bowl. One unnamed league source says the game is "DOA" after 2013, which will disappoint fans of tropical-themed uniforms, the ever-shrinking number of players willing to risk injury by playing in a meaningless exhibition game, and writers who have made a late-January tradition out of "How to Fix the Pro Bowl" columns. So long, old friend. [ESPN]

Game 7 of an NHL playoff series: special. More special than Game 7s in baseball and basketball, contends George Vecsey. This year's first round has brought three Game 7s in two days, while the well-documented recent uptick in brainings, beatings, and elbows to the head have only furthered the notion that postseason hockey is Very Serious Business. Enjoy it now, because it's only going to drag on for another six weeks. [The New York Times]

Speaking of things that drag on: the first round of the NFL Draft takes place tonight at Radio City Music Hall. The Indianapolis Colts will take former Stanford quarterback Andrew Luck with the first overall selection, while Baylor quarterback Robert Griffin III will go second to Washington, assuming all his limbs do not fall off before 8 p.m. You may say, "But we've known the first two picks for months!" which is true: but there's a big difference between knowing the first two picks and remembering that because you know the first two picks, the absolute earliest start time for Draft Day Intrigue is 8:30-ish. In case you wanted to do laundry or run ten three-minute miles. [AP]

Former Syracuse Orange assistant men's basketball coach Bernie Fine, fired last November after 36 on the bench amid allegations he molested two former ball boys, has landed a job consulting for Maccabi Bazan Haifa of the Israeli Basketball Super League. Fine will be doing his consulting from home. [ESPN]